Consumers evaluate many products by the aroma emitted from the product or the container in which the product is made available. Both edible and inedible products are evaluated in the way. Edible products such as juices and coffee are expected to have a fresh aroma that replicates or evokes memory of the expected flavor of the product. Inedible consumer products such as personal care products also are evaluated by the aroma. For example, consumers seek mouthwashes that provide a ‘fresh’ aroma and deodorants, for example, that provide a selected effect, such as ‘fresh’ or ‘sport’. Also, laundry detergents and fabric softeners also may provide such an effect.
Consumer satisfaction with edible products often rests on the aroma perceived when a package is first opened. For example, a consumer expects a strong aroma of coffee when a package is opened, whether the package is opened for the first time and is full, or has been opened before and is not full. Typically, the intensity of the aroma decreases as a container is emptied of product. However, consumers prefer to perceive a characteristic odor each time the package is opened.
The food industry, and particularly the beverage segment of that industry, is highly competitive. Manufacturers take great care and make substantial efforts to formulate their products for quality, to differentiate their products from one another, and to make consumption of a given beverage more enjoyable for their consumers.
An important contribution to the overall beverage experience is the taste of the beverage. Consumers' judgments about taste often are influenced by a beverage's aroma. When a beverage container is first opened and the beverage is poured or consumed from a container, the consumer perceives the aroma of the beverage. Because a beverage's ingredients usually determine its aroma, those ingredients are selected to provide a pleasant aroma, as well as the desired taste characteristics.
Although aroma can have a tremendous impact on the sensation of flavor, it often is difficult to make use of this phenomenon without modifying the ingredients to include aromatic compounds. However, such compounds often adversely affect the taste of the beverage. Therefore, packagers have attempted to design containers that, for example, release an aromatic substance when the container is opened.
Packaging for edible products that release aroma is subject to limitations, including inability to retain the aroma for the life of the package or to design a secure package. For example, aroma delivery systems often preclude incorporation of tamper-resistant features, add significant expense to typical container cost, and do not resist conditions in the retail and consumers' environments that degrade the packaging.
Similarly, other consumer products require adequate aroma release. For example, because the aroma of the product is a significant factor used by consumers when selecting personal care products, consumers commonly attempt to open personal care products to smell the fragrance of the product before deciding to purchase. The quality or impression created often leads to an immediate decision on whether to purchase a product.
However, aroma released from the product typically is the sole source of fragrance experienced by the consumer when opening the cap. The aroma of a product often is not revealed when the consumer opens the container because the orifice through which a product is dispensed is small, or a safety film is used under the cap to protect the integrity of the product. Additionally, it often is difficult to deliver adequate aroma that comes from the beverage itself, and not from the container, to the headspace of a container.
Therefore, overwraps that release aroma and strips on the outside of the container that release aroma, also known as ‘scratch and sniff’ strips, have been used to deliver aroma. Overwraps, once breached, may present an unsatisfactory appearance to the consumer. Also, a breached overwrap typically is not effective in retaining an aroma.
Repeated use of ‘scratch-and-sniff’ devices results in decreased efficacy. Also, consumers often do not have confidence that these and other devices accurately portray the aroma of the product. Therefore, consumers tend to open the cap to determine the actual aroma. Also, devices placed on the outside of packages are also not adequate for a consumer who expects to perceive the aroma when the container is opened and that the aroma emanate from the vicinity of the product in the container, and not from the outside of the container.
Typically, these devices are more suitable for inedible items for which the consumer seeks to evaluate a fragrance. Solutions that are suitable for inedible items often are not suitable for edible items, however. In particular, opening the cap cannot reasonably be used to evaluate edible products. Similarly, open overwrap presents a shopworn appearance and will cause a consumer to question the safety or quality of a product.
Providing aroma in a headspace inside a container also does not been satisfactory. Previous attempts to provide closures that release aroma into the headspace have resulted in cumbersome, costly, and aesthetically unattractive executions while failing to meet the needs of either manufacturers or consumers. Additionally, many products have little or no headspace in the container. This lack of headspace greatly reduces the opportunities to use such an aroma delivery system.
Many of these devices and methods rely on microcapsulation technologies, such as gelatin or melamine/formaldehyde microcapsules. However, such devices and methods, and particularly microcapsulation technologies, are suitable only for microcapsulation of non-polar, hydrophobic, or non-volatile aroma material.
Thus, there exists a need for an aroma delivery system for consumer products of diverse types. In particular, there exists a need form an aroma delivery system for delivery of aroma materials that are polar or hydrophilic, or more volatile than materials that can be microcapsulated.